The Girl Who Overcame Time
by Kartara
Summary: [ON HIATUS] Kanata Shiraishi is your normal every-day Japanese honors student. She just graduated from Tokyo University when her best friend mysteriously disappeared! When she goes to investigate, she is transferred into the Universe of AnS and forced to accept that this is her reality until she can get back to her own time. What will happen to her? Who will she meet?
1. Chapter 1

Hia! This is my first fanfic that I thought of so please be sure to leave a review, good or bad!

~Btw this takes place in the 1400th century (My estimate on ANS's time.) and a long time after Shirayuki and Zen are no longer together. In fact, it's Obi and Shirayuki that are together. Kiki and Mitsuhide are also together in this fan fic soo yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

 **NOW FOR THE STORY!**

* * *

Kanata woke up to her phone buzzing. She opened one eye to look at the window across from her with its drapes drawn. It was still dark out. Why would anyone call her at this time of night?

Nevertheless, she groaned as she sat herself up and rubbed her eyes as she grabbed her phone.

She had to blink a couple of times before she could readjust to the newfound light-source.

It said that her best friend's mother had called her at least a dozen times.

 _What could she want with me?_ She thought grumpily as she pressed "Call Back" on her phone and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello? Mrs. Yoko? What seems to be the prob-"

"KANATA, CHIYO IS GONE!" Mrs. Yoko screamed, interrupting her.

Kanata held the phone a bit away from her ear. _Well, now I'm awake._

Chiyo was Kanata's childhood friend since they were in daycare. They always hung out with each other since they got along so well. There was a difference between them, though- Chiyo was always irresponsible and reckless while Kanata was responsible and always thought everything through before making a decision. Kanata still didn't get how Chiyo got into the same university as her and graduate!

She put the phone back towards her ear.

"What do you mean she's gone?" She asked.

"SHE'S GONE. SHE CALLED TO SAY THAT SHE WAS COMING FOR A VISIT. THAT WAS SEVEN HOURS AGO AND I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM HER SINCE! NO ONE I'VE CALLED HAS EITHER!"

She flinched, still not use to the loud noise.

"Relax, she probably just forgot to turn her phone notifications on again like she did before and fell asleep. She'll apologize tomorrow, but for now, just try to calm down and take some Tylenol."

 _I know I need Tylenol for this massive headache,_ she thought.

Mrs. Yoko took a few deep breaths and was silent for a moment.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." She finally said quietly. "I just can't help worrying about her is all. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight not getting a call from her..."

Kanata sighed, giving up. "If you would like, I could go try and check up on her at her house-"

"Would you?!" Mrs. Yoko interrupted, obviously grateful for the small offer.

"Yeah, sure. She's only a block away from me. I'll just drive there fast and check on her. I'll also tell her to call you before I leave."

 _Right after I give her a piece of my mind! Who does she think she is, worrying people who care for her and waking me up at four in the morning?! She KNOWS I'm not a morning person!_

"Thank you!" Mrs. Yoko replied. "Honestly, you're like the responsible daughter I've never had!"

"You're like the worrying mother I've never had, too," Kanata whispered, meaning every word.

It was true. Kanata was never met her mother but was raised by her father. Apparently, her mother had disappeared shortly after Kanata's first birthday, even though everyone had said her parents were madly in love with each other. Search parties were formed for months after her disappearance, but no one found any trace of her. Although this wounded her father greatly, he still loved her dearly and tried the best he could to give her the best childhood. Unfortunately, he ended up dying soon after Kanata graduated high school. Ever since then, Mrs. Yoko had treated her like a second daughter.

After a moment, she realized that Mrs. Yoko had hanged up right after before she said that so she never heard it. Nor will she ever.

Kanata flopped back down on her bed, resting her eyes for a few seconds before jumping off and bolting out the front door, grabbing her purse as she did.

If she didn't get up fast, she would never get up at all. She had to do it fast so the adrenaline could kick in a bit and remove her tiredness.

She eventually landed up in the driveway to her apartment and jumped on her motorcycle. She grabbed the keys out of her purse before she swung her purse over her shoulder as she drove off into the dark night, her motorcycle headlights the only light guiding her.

After a minute or two, she landed up at Chiyo's apartment.

She jumped off her motorcycle, sprinting all the way to the second floor to get to her apartment.

She knocked, now all jumpy and antsy.

After a few knocks, she realized that she wasn't going to answer, so she twisted the doorknob. To her dismay, the door opened without any sign of hesitation.

 _Talk about irresponsible!_ She thought. _Leaving your door open in the night and through to the morning is definitely testing your neighborhood a little too much!_

She practically hit herself in the face with the door as she ran inside the apartment, making a left towards Chiyo's room.

She opened Chiyo's bedroom door so fast and loud that she thought someone was going to come up and tell her to stop making so much racket or they'll call the cops.

"CHIYO, YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD-"

She stopped herself midway. She couldn't see Chiyo anywhere in the room.

She frantically went around the whole apartment, opening every door, uncovering every blanket, and turning off the lights as she went.

She finally went back to Chiyo's room and plopped herself on top of her bed.

"Where could she be? At a party?" She muttered, cupping her face with her left hand.

She quickly jumped up when she heard a phone beep.

Kanata looked at the dresser. Sure enough, Chiyo's phone was there. Plugged in, fully charged.

Kanata unplugged it and surfed through her messages.

 _She sure did get a lot of calls and messages from her mother, but nothing out of the ordinary was there..._

She then went to Instagram and checked her latest post, six hours ago.

It was a picture of Chiyo smiling with a manga book.

Kanata squinted. From what her Japanese Kanji classes have taught her, it was "Akagami No Shirayuki-him."

 _Can't wait to read this! I just got it today and it looks SOOO CUTE! I only have one hour, though, because I have to go visit my mother soon. Talk to you later once I finish reading it!_ The post read.

Kanata pressed the power button and tossed it somewhere on the bed, frustrated.

 _That didn't help me know her whereabouts at all!_ She thought furiously, rubbing her head frustratingly.

Then, when she glanced at the floor, the manga book Chiyo was reading was right there. On the floor. In a tent-shape as if she just dropped it without giving it a second thought.

Kanata cautiously picked it up, closing it to look at its cover.

It had a girl with crimson red hair smiling back at her, carrying an armful of maps. She wore clothes that look like they were from the Middle Ages. It really _did_ look like something out of a history book, but in manga style.

Kanata quickly flipped through the book, scanning the pages to see if Chiyo had left a note. As she got near the end, she realized that Chiyo wouldn't be the type to leave little clues to a scavenger hunt all over the place to help find her.

Then, as she finished that thought, she landed on a blank page.

 _Weird,_ she thought. _Don't they usually finish these drawings before they publish these? Otherwise, it was just a rip-off._

Then, the page started drawing _itself._ Ink, coming out of nowhere, began to swirl that way and this way as it started to form a picture.

As if that wasn't creepy enough, it drew a picture of her! She had to admit, she looked cute in manga form, but it was still weird! It then drew a guy with white hair. The two figures smiled back at her.

After that it wrote some words but it was tiny so Kanata leaned in and squinted to get a better view.

Suddenly, the page started twisting and formed a hypnotizing circle design. She felt herself being pulled in by some unknown force and tried to resist but found out she had lost all control of her body!

 _Why is this happening to me?! What did I do to deserve this?!_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: What am I doing with my life?

To Razhel: Thanks for your support! Yes, it is quite rare to find stories like that on here. I've only seen two of them and only one of them is active. I don't really like these types of stories because they seem cliché to me and boring to read. I just suddenly had an idea about it and decided to throw that judgement away. (I'm a hypocrite, okay?)

 **NOW FOR THE STORY.**

* * *

 _Dad... if you're listening, please help..._

Kanata was gripping something tightly under her chest, although she didn't know what.

She opened her eyes and found herself sleeping on a brown leather bag. It was old, like Medieval Times old, so she couldn't understand why she had it.

She rubbed her eyes then yawned, putting a hand to her mouth. After she blinked a couple of times she realized she was sleeping on the ground against a tree.

Then when she glanced down at her clothes, she swore she almost jumped out of her body due to the shock.

She wore a brownish-greenish shirt with yellow lacing in a swirly pattern that did a 'V' on her chest. Luckily, she was wearing a white shirt underneath. Her black pants were slightly baggy and spilled out of her light-brown boots. _That leaves much to be desired!_ She imagined Chiyo telling her. As if that wasn't enough, she wore some sort of necklace with a pink glass frame inside. A goldish-color sturdy metal incased it and kept the pink material in place in a pretty pattern.

 _What is this necklace?!_

Her thought was interrupted by horses galloping in the distance. By the sound of it, they were approaching very quickly.

 _WAIT, HORSES?!_

Before she could even begin to question that thought, one of the horses came to a halt in front of her, giving a hurtful "Neigh!" due to the sudden stop in movement.

 _Jerk! How dare they abuse animals like that?_

She looked up and was about to give them a piece of her mind when she saw a guy with silver hair and a blue shirt. He wore white pants and dark blue boots with gold lacing at the cuffs of them.

 _Wait a second... those are too tight to be pants... there more like tights... WAIT, MEN ARE WEARING TIGHTS NOW?_

Her mind began to languish in a dazed state, confused at all this sudden change. Exactly how long had she been gone where Chiyo didn't tell her all the latest trends, even though she never wanted to hear them?!

"Yo," The silver-haired guy said, bending down to snap his fingers in front of her face. Somehow, he had gotten off his horse and in front of her in that moment of a daze.

Now that she had a better close-up of his face, she realized this was the guy who was drawn next to her in that book...

She blinked. "Uhh... yes? What were you saying?"

He gave her a confused look. "I don't understand you. What language are you speaking?"

 _Oh... he's speaking English... I guess he doesn't understand Japanese._

"Yes. What is it you were saying?" She asked, this time in English.

"I was asking why a girl like you would be out alone in the woods with no one to accompany her, especially with your distinctive features," He responded, a bit impatient.

 _Distinctive features?_

She had violet eyes the shade of a pre-mature purple grape and her hair was the dark violet shade of the night. Having violet as both her eye and hair color certainly made her stand out. On top of that, her dark-violet hair curled in the most unnatural way: It was curly at the top and slowly straightened as it worked its way down. Her hair was down to her waist, which probably didn't help things at all.

"So I have distinctive features. What does that have to do with anything?" She asked.

Mostly it just made kids bully her and made her stand out in a bad way, but why would he care about it?

"A lady, such as yourself, with your distinctive features could fetch a high price in illegal nobility auctions. You could get kidnapped by someone and never be heard from again," He explained as if it was obvious.

 _Kidnapped and sold? Auctions? What was this, the Middle Ages with monarchies?!_

"Excuse me, but can you tell me the date?" She asked politely.

"It's the second of January in the year 1413," He answered her, then a look of worry crossed his face. "Are you alright? You don't seem like you're from here..."

 _The year is 1413. It practically WAS the Middle Ages!_

"Are we still in Japan?" She asked, dazed and in her own little world.

If he looked worried before, this look certainly knocked that one out of the game. "We're in _Clarines_. Where is this Japan you speak of? I could try to get someone to help you get there, if you want-"

He was interrupted by three more galloping horses coming to halt next to his white stallion. A woman with blonde hair, a guy with cyan hair, and a guy with cat eyes dismounted their horses and rushed to him.

"Zen! I told you not to go ahead of us!" The cyan-haired man scolded him.

"I can't help that all of you are slow-pokes. Ride faster next time," The silver-haired man retorted.

 _So, Zen is his name..._

"Mitsuhide, I think we have more pressing concerns," The blonde woman interrupted.

"Huh? What do you mean, Kiki?" The cyan-haired man asked.

She pointed at Kanata. "This girl seems lost."

"Master, you sure have a tendency to run into people with interesting features, don't you?" The guy with cat-eyes said in a teasing tone, almost like a cat.

"Shut _up,_ Obi! It's not my fault that this kingdom is harboring interesting people who I just _happen_ to come across by!" Zen snapped back.

 _So this isn't the first time he's helped someone with interesting features?_

Kiki cleared her throat. "We have a young woman who needs our help. Could you _try_ to put your little rivalry and hate for one another to the side just for a _few_ minutes?"

Zen and Obi both straightened as they faced Kanata, their faces taking on a serious look.

"Wait a second..." Mitsuhide started, squinting. "Isn't that a Clarines entrance card? The one you get when you officially work for the castle?"

Obi squinted his cat eyes too. "Yeah, I think you may be right..."

In a heartbeat, he leaned forward, grabbed her "entrance card", and leaned back to inspect it.

"Hey!" Kanata started, trying to grab it as she stood up. He just kept holding it higher and higher every time she tried. _Damn his height!_

"'Naomi Kirisagi, Apprentice Court Herbalist'," He read off the entrance card. "If you already work for the Clarines Kingdom, shouldn't you know who he is?"

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You were just talking to the second prince of Clarines, Zen Wisteria," Mitsuhide said in a formal voice. "If you live here, shouldn't you know the monarchs of your kingdom?"

 _Wait... PRINCE?!_

"You never said you were a prince!" She quickly snapped at Zen, who took a step back like the words had some physical force to them.

"Wow. She knows you're a prince yet she talks to you so informally..." Obi stated in mock surprise, looking her up and down as he held her Clarines entrance card.

"She's like someone I know..." Mitsuhide started, putting his hand in a thinking posture on his chin, cupping that arm's elbow with his other hand and turning slightly.

"Oh, yeah? Who?" Zen asked menacingly, giving him a glare.

"It's on the tip of my tongue, I swear... who could that be..." Mitsuhide said slowly and daze-like as if he was really thinking.

"Anyways," Zen said, ignoring Mitsuhide, "if you work at the Clarines Castle, why didn't you know where you were, the time, and what language we spoke?"

"I don't!" Kanata snapped back. "Whoever this Naomi Kirisagi person is, it's not me! My name is Kanata. K-A-N-A-T-A!"

Obi stepped forward and put a hand on her forehead. "You're burning up, big time... Plus, I feel a bump here. Is it possible you fell and hurt yourself so bad you forgot who you were and what you were?"

"But I'm not an herbalist!" She protested. "I don't even know anything about herbs!"

"Oh, really?" Obi responded, giving her a mischievous look.

He pointed at the leather bag on her shoulder. "May I?"

 _I forgot it was there since it was so light!_

"Sure. I don't really know what's in there, though, so be careful!" She warned him, handing over her bag.

Obi went through it carefully as to not break anything and once he finished, he gave her a confused look.

"I thought you said you weren't a herbalist?" He asked.

"I'm not! I don't even know what they do!"

"Well... your bag would beg to differ," He contradicted her by pulling out a leather pouch of some sort. It had a slit in the middle like you could take it apart.

"That looks like something Shirayuki had before..." Zen stated, staring intently at it.

"It is," Obi responded, proving Kanata's observation as he took the cap off from the top. It went off effortlessly to reveal a plant of some sort.

"Does this look familiar?" He asked, showing her it.

She shook her head. "Not in the slightest."

"What about any of these?" He asked, opening the leather bag to reveal a few more pouches and one jar with a herb secured inside.

She shook her head again. "No, sorry."

"Either you stole a herbalist's purse and entrance card or you have Amnesia," Mitsuhide finally concluded.

"But I don't have that either!" She protested once again. "I can remember my name and where I'm from. I'm telling you, I'm not from here or from this time!"

"She asked if we were in Japan anymore," Zen quickly remembered, sharing a worried glance with Mitsuhide.

Obi held up her Clarines entrance card, pretending to inspect as he gave her a dull look as if he wasn't interested. "You have Amnesia, Miss. I've never heard of a Japan before."

"But-" She began to start before getting interrupted by Kiki.

"There is a simple way to settle this. If this Naomi person isn't you and you are in fact telling the truth about being from "Japan", then Shirayuki will tell us. If you are Naomi and just have Amnesia, she'll also be able to tell us that too," She stated in a dull, uninterested manner

"Okay then, it's settled!" Zen declared, putting his hands together. "We'll go to Shirayuki and ask her about this!"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. _No one is listening tp me!_

"Who's Shirayuki?" She asked. _If I'm going to her, I want to at least know a little about her._

"She's a court herbalist at Clarines. She's among one of the three there. You'll like her since she's spunky and doesn't care about rank either, just like you," Obi casually told her, handing her back her Clarines entrance card.

Everyone except her started walking forward towards the horses.

"Wait! Do you really think she'll be able to tell us anything?"

"Come or don't come, but if you don't come I'll have to take that leather bag and entrance card to give back to her," Obi replied, giving Kanata a side glance as he walked with his arms forming a upside-down triangle in the air to cushion his head.

She sighed and gave up trying to protest. _They weren't going to have any of my "nonsense" so it's better to just have this Shirayuki girl tell them instead._

She ran to catch up with them.

* * *

How did you feel about this chapter? Sorry if I made it a bit too long, but I wanted to be as detailed as possible with this so you could get a good visual.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Regarding any of the information I give out in this fanfic, don't trust it. I wouldn't use any of it to write an essay or to answer a test question if I were you.

To Razhel: Yeah, they do seem a lot alike! Also, that was what I was going for when I described her. She's never really liked her hair color much because of the bullying and being an outcast because of it. Sometime soon I'll include what she studied in the university but I want to make sure it's something that fits with the story. Thanks for your concern, though! I would never have noticed that if it hadn't been for you!

To jpavadora: *bows* Gomen'nasai! I'm so sorry for not updating in SUCH a long time! I hope that the fact that I'm uploading three chapters in a row helps make up for my utter procrastination of not uploading any chapters for the past three months! In these chapters, it's really getting heated up when Kanata meets Shirayuki and a special someone! Hope you enjoy!

 **NOW FOR THE STORY!**

* * *

Kanata's footsteps echoed in the hallway along with everyone else's as they made their way to the official main entrance of the herbalists' offices.

"You're sure she's here?" She asked again for the millionth time.

Obi sighed with impatience. "Like I said, if she's not here she's probably out in the garden helping Ryuu harvest the plants to make herbs. We could always just ask the chief herbalist for her diagnosis, though."

She didn't know if anyone could tell, but she was super nervous about what this herbalist had to say. She knew she wasn't lying, but what if the herbalist said she had Amnesia or stole all those things? What could she say then?!

Her heart couldn't stop pounding in her ears as Obi opened the door.

"Oh, hi everyone!" A young woman with shoulder-length crimson-red-hair greeted as she looked up from her clipboard next to the chief herbalist's desk.

 _That's the red-haired woman I saw on that book!_

"Yo," Zen responded as he walked up in front of Obi, preventing him from answering first.

"So, we were just wondering," Obi started as he stepped in front of Zen. "If you could tell us if-"

"-This girl has Amnesia or if she just stole someone else's things," Zen finished as he stepped in front of Obi once again.

The red-haired woman- _Shirayuki, was it?_ \- put her clipboard down on a nearby desk and waved both of her hands at her sides. "This room is only so big- you won't be able to do that forever!"

Zen sighed as he stepped back to be next to Obi.

"Along the same note, what woman do you mean?" She asked.

Obi pointed at Kanata. "This is the woman we were talking about."

Shirayuki titled her head sideways as she gave him a confused look. "What do you mean? That's Naomi, our newest Court Herbalist Apprentice. I may not have known her for long but I can tell you she's not the type to steal."

"So that means she has Amnesia," Obi concluded, putting his right hand on his left shoulder, clearly meant as a sign of boredom.

"Wait!" Kanata interrupted, putting her hands up defensively. "You know me?!"

"Yes. You're an Apprentice Court Herbalist, assigned to me," She responded.

She pursed her lips in worry. "I think Obi may be right—she has Amnesia!"

Shirayuki quickly walked towards Kanata and put a hand on her forehead. "You're burning up and I can feel a bump here..."

"Wait for a second!" Kanata sputtered, trying to comprehend what was happening. "You mean you saw me before, in _this_ world?"

It seemed like every word Kanata uttered just made Shirayuki worry even more. "Yes, in " _this"_ world! How can you _not_ remember?" Then Shirayuki sighed and facepalmed herself. "This is all my fault! If only I hadn't asked you to go and get me those herbs-"

"-You mean these?" Obi interjected, holding up Kanata's leather bag in one hand and an open leather pouch in the other.

She nodded. "Those are the ones. I wouldn't have asked her to if I knew it would result in Amnesia..."

"Relax," Obi instructed, handing her the leather bag and pouch. "Naomi chose to go and get these herbs herself. Besides, Amnesia can be temporary or permanent so you have a fifty-fifty chance of getting her memories back."

Shirayuki nodded with a determined look. "You're right! Instead of sitting here, blaming myself for what happened, I should try to help her regain her memories. Thanks, Obi!"

He gave her a heart-melting smile. "No problem!"

Zen gave him a menacing glare while Shirayuki blushed. _What's the deal with those three?_

"Anyways," A lady with blonde wavy hair down to her hips interrupted as she slammed the palms of her hands down on the Chief Herbalist desk. "maybe you should ask Ryuu what he thinks. He'll know if there are any holes deep enough to make a person get Amnesia if they fall around here."

Kanata gave her a confused look. "I didn't fall, though. When Zen-" Shirayuki, Obi, and Mitsuhide gasped at this, "-found me in the woods, I was beside a tree, drained of energy. I couldn't have fallen."

"She called Prince Zen by his given name without permission when she _just_ met him?" Shirayuki whispered to Obi.

Obi nodded. "She already knows he's a prince, too."

"Oops, I forgot!" Kanata said, scratching her head nervously as she smiled a weak smile.

Zen shrugged it off. "I don't mind. After all, you're a Court Herbalist Apprentice, so I'll be seeing you more times than I can care to remember."

"Calling Prince Zen by his given name," Mitsuhide said in a teasing tone, "sounds a lot like someone else I know that Zen helped."

"Oh, yeah?" Shirayuki snapped. "I wonder who you're talking about?"

Mitsuhide shrugged. "I don't know their name, but I can tell you they have a very distinguishing feature..."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I get the message."

"Wait, so _you_ were the one with a distinguishing feature that Zen helped?!" Kanata asked, shocked.

Shirayuki blinked. "Yeah, why? Did they already tell you about me?"

"Slightly, but not a lot. Obi told me that we would get along because we're both spunky and both don't care about royal or noble statuses."

Shirayuki nodded. "That's true. When we first met, we got along as if we knew each other our whole lives. I couldn't wish for a better apprentice even if I wanted to!"

Just then, Kanata received glimpses of Naomi's memories. They were when Shirayuki and she both worked side-by-side as they completed daily herb check-ups, making new herbal remedies, and getting her first Apprentice Court Herbalist uniform. Weirdly, Naomi looked exactly like Kanata. It was as if it was _her_ getting it and not Naomi!

Kanata staggered, falling clumsily against the Chief Court Herbalist's desk and covering an eye with one of her hands. _W-What's going on?!_

 _"_ _Are you okay?!"_ She heard someone say distantly. She felt her head getting woozy and felt her body get heavier and heavier by the minute!

 _Some... one... help..._

* * *

 _"_ _Shirayuki-san!"_ Kanata heard someone calling out distantly as she tried to open her eyes. Strangely, her eyelids felt heavy. _"Your patient is awake!"_

 _Where am I?_

Her mind felt like it was in a fog-like state and she felt too tired to do anything. She closed her eyes because it was too much work keeping them open.

 _Have I always been this lazy? I feel like I'm actually a hard-working person, somewhere deep down in my memories..._

 _"_ _Naomi?"_

 _"_ _Naomi!"_

She sat upright as she let shock wake her up, shaking her head from side to side. "Yes?"

"Thank God you're awake..." Shirayuki sighed in relief as she took a seat in a chair next to her.

Kanata took a good look around her. From what she could tell, she was in an infirmary of some sort. She appeared to be in a bed. She lifted a hand up to touch her head and felt her violet bangs overlap her fingers as she felt a tight bandage stretch across her forehead.

"You collapsed in the Official Herbalist Office and hit your head pretty badly. I tried to bandage you up as good as I could, but unfortunately, I don't think I did anything significant to help ease your pain, since Amnesia isn't curable right now," Shirayuki explained as she carefully undid the bandage on Kanata's head.

"I-I..." She stuttered, not sure how to say this. "Before I collapsed, I had memories of you and I, except it wasn't really me... It's difficult to explain, but I felt as if I was just viewing the memories and not actually living them with you..."

"That's to be expected," Shirayuki reassured her. "It happens with all of the amnesia patients. In fact, we've had a similar case to yours within this past week-"

"Really?" Kanata interrupted, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Tell me about them!"

"Alright, alright, calm down!" Shirayuki laughed as if she was scolding a little kid as she lifted Kanata's hands off her shoulders. "She came in a similar way like you did, but instead of Zen, she had Crown Prince Izana find her. She refused to believe she had Amnesia, like you, but eventually went back to being her normal self again. That's all I really know about her."

"What's her name?"

"In Clarines her name is Mitsuki Kurugi, but for the first few days she insisted that her name was Chiyo," She responded matter-of-factly.

 _Wait... Chiyo came here too?_

"Please take me to see her!" She pleaded, grabbing her by the shoulders again.

"I see you're fine and well, all of the sudden!" Shirayuki let out a soft chuckle as she felt her forehead.

"You don't seem like you have a fever, but I'm not so sure about letting you see Mitsuki..."

"I'll be careful!" She promised her. "Just please let me see her!"

Shirayuki put a finger on her chin in a thinking posture as she thought about it.

"Okay, okay. I thought it over and I think it may not be such a bad idea that you meet her after all," Shirayuki admitted somberly, "but you have to be careful and try not to stress yourself too much!"

Kanata nodded. "I promise not to stress too much when I'm with her."

"I can't make any promises," Shirayuki began, giving her an uncertain glance, "but I'll try my best to arrange a meeting for you two."

"Thank you, Shirayuki!" Kanata thanked her as she threw her arms around her. "You're the best!"

"Yuki-chan," Shirayuki responded in a low voice.

"Hmm?" She asked confused. "What were you saying?"

"Yuki-chan is what you used to call me since you couldn't remember my full name," Shirayuki informed her, "Mind calling me that again?"

Kanata smiled. "Sure, Yuki-chan!"

"Alright, Naomi-chan!" Shirayuki unwrapped her arms around Kanata and walked towards the door to the infirmary. "I'll try my best to arrange a meeting, so wish me luck!"

Once Shirayuki shut the door softly behind her, Kanata threw herself down on her temporary bed and pulled the covers to her neck.

 _Today's been a long day. I need sleep._

And with that thought, she drifted off into deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hope you like how the story is progressing! Sooner or later, I'll reveal what Kanata did in university, but you'll just have to wait and find out! :D

* * *

"Yuki-chan!"

Shirayuki stopped in her tracks and turned around. Currently, she was wearing her uniform for work and was holding a clipboard that she had used to write down any abnormalities in the herb garden. She was heading back towards the official office of the Court Herbalists so she could sign out and go back to her room to conduct her study on a certain plant.

"Naomi-chan?!" Shirayuki stuttered in surprise. "Why are you out of your bed?! You're recovering from a nasty fall, you shouldn't be up and about so early!"

"I couldn't help it, Yuki-chan!" Kanata pouted as she puffed her cheeks out. "I was bored and I've been waiting all morning for you to come back to the infirmary and update me on what's new with your request for me to see Mitsuki!"

Kanata was wearing her casual clothing, which was a navy-blue shirt that made a lacey V on her chest (she had a white shirt underneath) that she matched with indigo-blue pants. All of that really didn't help to conceal her vexing violet hair.

Shirayuki sighed. "I was going to come to you straight afterward!" That was a lie. She had actually forgotten all about it but didn't want to tell her that.

"Whatever," Kanata replied as she crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes, "So? Did you get a response for when you asked for me to see Mitsuki?"

"Not that I know of," Shirayuki responded back, "but..."

"'But'?!" Kanata repeated with an emphasis on the word before she advanced on her.

"Well..." Shirayuki began as a thin line of sweat started to form on her forehead. "Mitsuki might be working right now, if you want to go check-"

"Would I?!" Kanata interrupted, grinning like mad. "I would love to!"

"Well, I guess I could spare a minute or two-"

"Stop talking and lead the way!"

"Okay, okay!" Shirayuki sighed in defeat as she led the way. "She's over here."

"Oh, what's her job?" Kanata finally remembered to ask.

"She's somewhat of a lady-in-waiting, but for princes since there aren't any more women with a high social status that need a lady-in-waiting," Shirayuki informed her as she swerved to take a right. "On the side, though, she helps King Izana with his paperwork and the such. She's basically his attendant nowadays."

"Is it fun working for King Izana?"

"I couldn't imagine having fun with him around," Shirayuki admitted somberly with a knowing look in her eyes. "He's hard to please and always has a comment on my commoner upbringing. He's also always trying to teach me to have ladylike manners, even though I'm not even with Zen anymore."

"That reminds me," Kanata started as she recalled how Obi and the prince had made a show in front of Shirayuki, "what happened to the two of you?"

Shirayuki stopped then turned as red as her hair as she averted her gaze from Kanata. "Z-Zen and I were in a relationship once a-and I was waiting for him to ask for my hand in marriage, b-but as I waited I realized Obi was always the one by my side a-and I started to realize I loved him for being able to calm me down when I needed it most..."

"You and the prince were-"

"If you mind, I rather not talk about it!" Shirayuki interrupted as she held a clipboard up to her nose, feebly trying to hide her red face. She quickly spun on her heel and walked off, not stopping to see if Kanata was following her.

They resumed their walk to find Chiyo in an eerie silence once Kanata caught up to her. After a short while, they finally reached their designated destination.

"'Ladies-In-Waiting', huh?" Kanata read off the room identification plate.

"She should be here if she's working-" Shirayuki said as she looked back at Kanata while she opened the door.

" _She's here,_ " Kanata whispered in a low voice as she walked past Shirayuki to stop at Chiyo.

"Hmm?" Shirayuki turned around to see Chiyo.

"Is-is it really you, Kanata?" Chiyo whispered as she turned pale like she had seen a ghost.

"Seems you two have already seen each other," Shirayuki observed. "I'll leave you to it."

She left them alone, shutting the door softly behind her.

"Chiyo!" Kanata cried out as she flung her arms around Chiyo, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Kanata!" Chiyo cried out, hugging her with all her might. "I've been so scared since I got here! I thought I might never get out of here!"

"I know!" Tears rolled down Kanata's face before they fell down on Chiyo's dress and became absorbed by the fabric. "I have no idea how to get out of here, but we've got to try!"

After they finished crying tears of joy, Chiyo led them to two chairs with a matching table that had tea cups. Kanata explained how she ended up in Clarines, blaming the whole thing on Chiyo. "If you didn't worry your mother so much, I wouldn't have tried to look for you and get stuck in this predicament!" Kanata concluded, fake-pouting as she puffed her cheeks out.

"Sorry..." Chiyo let her voice trail off as she scratched her head nervously. "At least we found each other, though!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kanata responded dully as she rolled her eyes, "It's all rainbows and sunshine with you. It's hard to be a pessimist with you around. You should be the Queen of Optimists."

"I guess." Chiyo put her hands palm-up in the air, shrugging her shoulders.

"So, how did you come here?" Kanata asked, crossing her legs over each other and laying back on her chair, propping her head up with an upside-down triangle assembled from her arms.

"Well..." Chiyo began before trailing off, rubbing her neck as she averted her gaze. "It all started one day when I found a shop that sold antiques..."

Chiyo sighed as her eyes began to distance themselves from reality before she began her sad tale.

 _It was a cold, windy day as she opened the door to her apartment. Unfortunately, she forgot to check the weather app on her phone and received a bone-chilling gust of the wind on her face as a reward. She lifted an arm up above her eyes, squinting to see beyond the door._

 _Dark clouds hovered above in the dreary sky, giving her the impression it would rain soon._

Good thing I've graduated college with a degree to become a meteorologist!

 _Chiyo let go of her grasp of the door and let the wind slam it shut as she turned and ran back into her apartment._

 _After she had gotten her coat and scarf on, she ran out of the door._

 _She skipped, humming as she did, despite the dreary atmosphere._

 _The reason she was so happy today was because one of her friends had told her about a cute, quaint shop that sold antiques. It was said to be filled to the brim with shelves filled with wonders she had yet to lay her eyes on._

 _Finally, after spacing out for so long, Chiyo turned on a street and found the shop._

 _Yup. It was at the end of the dead-end road, just like her friend had said. The building was slightly leaning to the right, giving the impression that it had been through a lot of major natural disasters in its prime days. Its red bricks had the red chipped away, leaving most of the building beige. The shop windows were so caked with dust that you couldn't even see through them._

 _Chiyo's heart thumped in her chest as she clasped her hands together with a smile that covered most of her face._ This is just like something out of a movie!

 _She hopped on one foot all the way to the door, switching the foot she hopped on every time. She hummed a melody under her breath, barely realizing her surroundings anymore._

 _She reached the entrance to the quaint shop in no time at all._

 _She reached out her shaking hands as she opened the door up with excitement. As she opened it, a bell chimed at her entering the shop, welcoming her._

 _She walked in, her eyes sparkling even in the dimly lit place. "Ahhh!"_

 _"_ _Who are you?" A voice asked coldly, leaning slightly against the door with an open palm and slamming it shut._

 _Chiyo turned around, jumping a little, surprised at the sudden question. "Ch-Chiyo, ma'am."_

 _"_ _Chiyo," The elderly lady repeated, the name sounding unfamiliar in her mouth. "As in the thousand years and eternal meaning?"_

 _"_ _Yes ma'am," Chiyo replied respectively, bowing slightly. "My mother thought my olive skin was as eternal as sand giving into the tide, so she wrote my name with that kanji."_

 _"_ _Chiyo," She repeated again as she stepped towards Chiyo. "You seem familiar."_

 _Chiyo took a step back as she put her hands in a gesture of peace. "I'v-I've never seen you before, ma'am... I don't know what you mean..."_

 _"_ _No matter," The elderly lady replied before walking behind the store check-out counter and disappearing behind a door._

 _Chiyo sighed before relieving her hands of their position in the air._ What's up with her?

 _She decided to entertain her eyes by letting them gloss over the items on the shelves that covered most of the store, barely leaving any space for someone to move. Lucky for her, she was naturally skinny so she had plenty of room._

 _Consequently, she ended up in an aisle used for antique books of all kinds. Her eyes gave off a little gleam even in the dimly lit store. She allowed her fingers to trail over book covers, some new, some with bindings that were falling apart._

 _Finally, she rested her fingers on a moderately-used dust jacket that read "Akagami No Shirayuki-hime" in pretty, slanted kanji._

 _She tilted it sideways with a slender finger, checking to see if there was any dust on the pages like there was amongst other books. Surprisingly, there was not._

 _She was just about to grab it and inspect it but was interrupted by the elderly lady as she tapped her shoulder suddenly. Due to this, she quickly moved her hand away, causing the book to lose its balance and tumble down, taking her down with it._

 _"_ _You're positive your name is Chiyo?" The elderly lady rasped, hands crossed behind her back, as she looked at Chiyo on the ground in a distasteful manner._

 _"_ _Y-Yes..." Chiyo replied, getting up with the book as she dusted herself off with her free hand. Why does she care so much about my name?_

 _"_ _That book," The elderly lady rasped once again as she pointed at the book she was holding, "is yours. Your late father reserved it just for you."_

 _"_ _W-What?" Chiyo stammered in disbelief as she turned the book over in her hands. "This is mine?"_

 _"_ _It seems he wanted you to have it."_

 _"_ _But why?"_

 _"_ _Your father was a very mysterious man. He also was a very misleading man and tricked me into running this antique shop!"_

 _"_ _Why would he do that?"_

 _"_ _If I knew the answer to every question in the universe, I wouldn't be working at an old, dusty antique shop, now would I?"_

 _"_ _Sorry ma'am," She apologized, bowing slightly. "I don't have very good manners..."_

 _"_ _I don't care. JUST. GET. OUT."_

 _With that, the elderly lady threw her out of her shop with a surprising amount of strength. Chiyo was left to be sprawled out on the cold pavement in the windy late morning_

Owww! _Chiyo thought as she rubbed her neck, wincing._ What got her in a bad mood?

 _She got up and realized, thanks to the position of the sun, that it was already late in the morning!_

I'm going to be late for my mother's brunch! I just have the worst luck today!

 _She ran at her top speed through the streets, catching only the silhouettes of people she'd passed, not stopping until she reached her apartment._

 _Finally! She thought as she ran/slid all the way down the sidewalk, up the stairs, and down the walkway that led to her apartment._

 _After she had opened the door to her apartment, she rested her hands on her knees, heaving her chest with rapid breaths as she bent slightly over._

Still... got... to... change...

 _She collapsed, out of breath. She felt herself burning up. To try to distract herself from the pain, she looked around and found the book she had gotten sprawled out on the floor next to her. She must have dropped it when she collapsed._

Oh well, might as well make the best of this book and keep it!

 _She whipped out her cell phone, forgetting her pain and burning hot forehead, eager to take a picture of the manga book and show her friends. If there was one thing she was good at, it was being optimistic and grateful._

There! _She thought in triumph as she posted the picture on Instagram and slipped her phone back in her front pocket. After doing so, she decided to examine the book and opened it._

 _It was an ordinary book, as far as she could tell. The pages were all intact, although the sewing thread used to bind the book together was starting to separate itself from the binding._

If it's so special, why would my father, who I never knew, leave this to me?

 _She didn't focus on the pages much as she flipped through each one, catching only a glimpse, to see if there was anything special she had missed._

 _Finally, she landed on a page with nothing on it._

 _Actually, she took back her previous observation. The ink was starting to spread itself in blotches on the blank page, indicating two figures._

WAIT, IS INK SUPPOSE TO BE MAGICALLY DRAWING ON A PIECE OF PAPER?!

 _Before she knew it, she had jumped up as she held the book as far away as her arms would let her/_

 _She frantically moved her head from side-to-side as she glanced nervously around, tears of fear starting to form in her cherry-blossom-pink eyes._

WHAT DO I DO, WHAT DO I DO?! SHOULD I GO TO THE ELDERLY LADY AND ASK HER IF THIS IS NORMAL? SHOULD I CALL THE POLICE? I WISH KANATA WAS HERE, SHE WOULD KNOW WHAT TO DO!

 _After screaming all of that silently inside her head, she finally stole a glance at the page. It was finished being drawn on and displayed two figures; one of them was her, but the other figure was a man she didn't know with long hair._

 _Almost instantly, she felt her body being pulled toward the page, like it couldn't bear to stay away from it. Soon her outstretched arm had bent and the book was only an inch away from her eyes. She kept trying to resist the pull, but was having little success. She grunted and winced as she did so._

 _Suddenly, her vision was enveloped with black-and-white hypnotic circles twisting and turning. She couldn't see her room or anything familiar anymore._

 _"_ _W-Where am I?!" She screamed in fear as she floated in midair. "Am I even on planet Earth anymore?!"_

 _If anyone had listened to her screams, they didn't show any signs of it. She was left to ponder her thoughts and languish in this situation._

 _She hung her head low and hugged her knees close to her chest, utterly defeated. Even her optimistic self was defeated, unsure what to do in this unknown situation. Tears rolled down her cheeks and down to her knees, soon being absorbed by the fabric of her pants._

 _And then, she felt herself getting very woozy, like someone had hypnotized her. Before she knew it, she had fallen unconscious._

 _TBC._

* * *

A/N: When the elderly woman said "As in the thousand years and eternal meaning?" she was referring to what Chiyo's name means. Its literal meaning is both a thousand years and eternal. I found it quite fitting for this character. On a slightly different note, it's hard for me to write any lines for Chiyo/Mitsuki because she's the exact opposite of me. She's optimistic, cheerful, friendly, and easy to get along with. I'm more like Kanata/Naomi whereas I'm a pessimist, a wallflower who doesn't like to bring attention to myself and only communicate a few words to anyone who isn't my immediate family. I'm also very antisocial. I'm a pretty sad wash-up of a girl, aren't I?

Here's a short two-line story about how antisocial I am from the other day:

Substitute teacher (as she reads the teacher's notes): Okay, you all need to form groups. Any nominations?

Me: I nominate a group; me, myself, and I. Thank you very much.


	5. Chapter 5

OKAY PEOPLE. THIS IS WHERE IT GETS CONFUSING.

Starting from this chapter until I finish this series, Kanata will be called Naomi and Chiyo will be called Mitsuki. It might take a bit readjusting to get used to it, but if you have short term memory loss, you'll be okay with this change.

Remember to leave a review, good or bad! I don't really care how you phrase it, either.

 **ANYWAYS, NOW FOR THE STORY YOU ALL CAME HERE FOR!**

* * *

"Naomi is awake?" Zen asked, leaning against one of the castle's many pillars.

Zen had sneaked out of his office when his two loyal aides weren't looking and took a stroll around the castle grounds. Consequently, he had met Shirayuki on the way and had stopped to talk to her. Right now, she was wearing her Court Herbalist uniform over her usual casual clothing, clutching a clipboard close to her chest. Similarly, Zen was wearing his usual assortment of royal attire that had been laid out by the castle maids.

"'That is correct," Shirayuki confirmed matter-of-factly. "She immediately asked to see Mitsuki upon being conscious."

"Hmmm..." Zen muttered under his breath. "I think I would like to meet her privately later on."

"'Privately'?" Shirayuki repeated, blinking in confusion. "May I ask why?"

"She seems interesting is all," Zen replied, shifting his gaze off her to the sky. "She claims she's from the future. I would like to see if she still insists that she still is."  
"Oh, is that so?"

The young red-haired herbalist hung her head low, clutching the clipboard even closer to her chest. Her crimson bangs covered her eyes, giving no sign of the emotion swirling inside them. Her hands trembled ever so slightly.

"Are you okay, Shirayuki?" Zen reached out a hand tentatively to comfort her, but immediately found it recoiling back into the palm of his hand. _After all, she wouldn't want me touching her if she's with_ him...

Shirayuki brought her head back up as she smiled with her eyes closed. "I'm all right. I was just thinking about how fragile she might be so close to having Amnesia inflicted on her. If you're going to test her, then please don't cause her to dive deeper into it than she already has."

Zen instinctively brought a hand up to place on her crimson hair, ruffling it up a little bit in a gesture of affection. "Don't worry. I'll be careful with her, but if no one is going to push for her to remember who she is, then she won't try to remember."

"Yeah... sure thing..." Shirayuki barely managed to mutter as her face reddened to the color of her hair. Subconsciously, her hands decided to let go of her clipboard and dropped to the ground.

"Huh?" Zen asked, blinking in confusion. Then he realized that he used to do that to her when they were together, but they weren't anymore. He slowly removed his hand away from her hair, balling it up into a fist before pressing it against his mouth to hide his face reddening.

"I'll be leaving now!" Shirayuki suddenly piped out as quiet as a mouse before reaching down to hurriedly grab her clipboard. She spun on her heel and ran away, her hands unconsciously making an "X" on her clipboard that she hugged close to her chest.

"Wait!" Zen called out, reaching a hand out in mid-air. It was no use. She was gone.

 _I wish I could've talked to her a little bit more... after all, with Obi always around her, we never have any chances to talk to each other like we use to..._

He walked down one of the many hallways in the castle, pondering over his latest thought.

* * *

"Your father left you a book?!" Naomi exclaimed in surprise, getting up from her chair and slamming the palms of her hands down on the table.

"Yes," Mitsuki replied, averting her gaze. "He left me a manga book, although I do not know why."

"That still doesn't make any sense." Naomi put a finger on her chin in a thinking posture. "Your father left you a book, a _manga_ book at that, that transported you into a make-believe world!"

Mitsuki shrugged, showing no sign of interest. "Has anything made sense since we've been here?"  
"Good point."

"Moving swiftly along, what did the old woman mean when she said that he had tricked her into running the shop?"

Naomi racked her brain for some kind of answer, but was baffled when she could not find one. "I honestly don't have a clue."

Mitsuki was about to answer, but was promptly interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Milady, the king awaits your presence," The man who interrupted them hurriedly explained.

"I will be right with him in a moment, sir." Mitsuki waved him off. The man seemed to be in a rush to leave the room with this message, no doubt grateful to go back to the king's side.

"Since when do you become so cozy with the king?"

"Only since he's helped me. Besides, I doubt he actually wants to hear what I have to say. No doubt he just wants to mock me even more for my soft brown hair that's _so_ peculiar."

Mitsuki got up from her chair to hug Naomi briefly before pulling back.

"I'll be sure to keep in touch, okay?" Her voice sounded soft, full of sorrow. Her eyes even brimmed with unshed tears. Her hands unconsciously entangled themselves with Naomi's, squeezing tightly.

"Yeah, yeah," Naomi responded, rolling her eyes in a fake show of not caring. "We aren't on Opera right now. You can stop with the dramatic exit."

She was never the type to let feelings overwhelm her to the point where she couldn't think rationally. She had already done that once today when she first saw Mitsuki, anyhow.

Mitsuki gave her a weak smile before pulling her hands back to her side and straightening. "Sure thing, little Miss I-Can't-Feel-A-Thing-'Cause-I'm-Heartless."

Naomi puffed out her cheeks, pretending to be mad. "I do have a heart!"

"It shrank five sizes last Christmas, though."

"I believe you're talking about the Grinch and his heart _grew_ five sizes, not shrank!"

"Nope, I'm pretty sure I'm talking about you."

She and Naomi broke out into a fit of laughter, their hands gripping at their sides as they bent slightly over.

"We haven't been like this for too long!" Mitsuki barely managed to say while laughing.

"Seriously, though," Naomi started, trying to make her voice sound serious but failing when the last remnants of laughter showed through her facade, "we have to find out why we're here-"

"Ma'am, the king impatiently awaits your return," The man from earlier interrupted as he popped his head into the room, clutching the door rather tightly with one of his hands. No doubt he had been yelled at by the king, going by the look on his face.

"Oops!" Mitsuki got up, pushing her chair back in the process. "I have to leave now!"

"Wait, there's still a lot of stuff I want to-"

"I hope to meet you again!" Mitsuki called out before ushering the interpreter out of the door and following him before slamming the door shut.

Naomi sighed, pulling back her outstretched hand to her side.

 _I guess I'll leave now. There's no use staying here._

* * *

Zen swerved and took a left as he continued walking around the castle with no real purpose.

 _I still have a lot of things to take care of when I return..._

He carried on absent mindfully walking, not bothering to look at his surroundings.

 _I wonder what Mitsuhide and Kiki will have to say when I return?_

He had barely just finished that thought when he bumped into a silhouette of a person. Consequently, he and the stranger were sent to be sprawled on the floor at opposite angles.

"Ouch!" He heard a familiar female voice hiss out in annoyance. "Watch where you're going!"

" _Sorry_ , but I wasn't aware that I'm supposed to watch out and catch any damsels in distress when ladies-in-waiting, princesses, and noblemen's daughters aren't around-"

He stopped midway through his retort, leaving his mouth opened wide. The person he bumped into was no other than _Naomi_!

"It-It's you!" Zen sputtered, crawling on his hands backward to get away from her. "Since when were you released?"

"I wasn't!" Naomi retorted, getting up and patting her pants down to rid it of dust. "I just needed… fresh air. Yup, fresh air!"

The last stuttering part of her response made Zen skeptical of her and wary of her actions as he elevated himself up. "You just needed fresh air?"

"That's what I just said."

"I find that very hard to believe."

"Well…" Naomi's voice trailed off as she averted her gaze, clearly deep in thought as to what to say in response. "I find it hard to believe that a prince would run away from his royal obligations!"

"What?!" Zen sputtered, looking around for something he could use in defense. _Oh, right. I'm not in my office…._

"I was patrolling the castle grounds for any signs of intruders." He finally managed to come up with a good excuse.

"Guards do that all the time. I can't believe that."  
"Look, I'll overlook your absconding if you overlook mine, alright?"

"I believe you've made a good bargain. Deal!"

Zen sighed, clearly having met his match when it came to escaping one's obligations. _She really is something…._

"Where were you heading to, anyways?" He casually inquired.

"To the courtyard."  
"It would be quite ungentlemanly of me to allow a lady to escort herself to the other side of the castle all on her lonesome. I'll accompany you."

"You just want a reason to elude your royal responsibilities, don't you?"

"That remains to be arbitrated."

"Then let's go, my ever-so-faithful gentleman."

Zen led them both to a part of the courtyard Naomi had never seen before. This part had cherry-blossom trees that were in full bloom due to the mid-spring they were in. This part of the courtyard was on the top of a slope that sloped downward to reveal a magnificent view of a mixture of bungalows and chalets located in Clarines with birds flying overhead. Naomi normally would have been scared, since she's afraid of heights, but luckily there was a stone barricade establish firmly in a straight line that she could look over.

"This feels amazing!" Naomi suddenly exclaimed, not bothering to conceal her true feelings. A grin covered most of her face as she practically skipped all the way to a cherry-blossom tree before descending down to position herself against the tree trunk.

"I thought you would like this spot," Zen responded with a sly grin, following her lead and winding up laying against the tree trunk next to her. "You seem like the type of person who would love scenery more than any amount of jewels."

"That's a nice observation, Prince," Naomi conveyed coldly, straightening her back and slanting her eyes. "Whatever made you think that?"

"You just gave off that vibe is all."

"Tell me something, Prince."

"Hmm?"

'Why do you even care the slightest bit about me?"

When Naomi looked to her side to find Zen, she found him making himself comfortable against the tree trunk, slouching his back down. The slight breeze swished his white bangs from side-to-side, accompanied by his cute sleeping expression when he closed his eyes, making him seem cuter than ever.

"The way you were so innocent and didn't know about the most basics of Clarines drew me to you. I guess you could say I felt a need to protect you since you couldn't protect yourself."

Naomi turned her face away from Zen as she blushed furiously, hugging her knees close to her chest. Why does he have to go and say something so embarrassing?

"You only noticed me because of my violet hair, though," She finally managed to get out, turning her embarrassment into rage.

"Why do you hate your hair so much?"

"Huh?"

"Well, every time you talk about it, it's like you just tasted something rotten. What did your hair ever do to you?"

Naomi scratched one of her cheeks nervously, finally turning to look at him but averting his gaze. "W-Well, my hair has always gotten me into trouble and never into anything good. Some people say that since my hair is the color of midnight, it means it will be my end."

"Well, I don't think that's what midnight means to me."  
"What do you mean?"

Zen finally opened his eyes and propped himself up with his hand as he looked directly into her eyes. "Some people consider midnight to be the beginning of a day, I included. It doesn't have to be the end. In fact, I think it's the reason why we've met. Your hair decided to begin our friendship that day."

Zen gasped as he saw tears start to roll down her face. "Please don't cry!"

"I-I can't h-help it…" Naomi hiccupped in between her sobs. "No one's e-ever said that to m-me before…."

Zen held his hands in midair, glancing frantically around to try to find something that would cheer her up. His gaze finally stopped on a fallen cherry blossom. The stem was severed at its head, but other than that, it was fine.

He carefully cupped it into his hands, as to not further damage it, and gently maneuvered his hands until they were in front of Naomi's face.

"For you."

Naomi glanced from behind her hands, her eyes widening in surprise. "It's pretty!"

She took it tentatively from him, cupping it into her hands as well before dropping it into her pocket, careful not to stifle it between the fabric.

"Thank you!" She replied gratefully, throwing her arms around him and squeezing him tight.

"C-Care..ful…" Zen barely managed to sputter out, finding it very difficult to breathe.

"Oops, sorry!" Naomi apologized, loosening her grip a bit.

After managing his breath and breathing at a good pace, he hugged her back.

"You're welcome."

 **TBC.**

* * *

That's it for this time around! I'll be sure to post another chapter within the next two weeks for all my lovely supporters!

I also updated chapter 1 & 2 because I noticed A LOT of issues within them. I don't know how all of you even stayed around to read this with those atrocious chapters!

I always welcome criticism because there is so much room for improvement. Any comment, good or bad, is greatly appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

A loving reader (Guest): I'm glad you like the story! I hope I don't disappoint you with this chapter!

Alex-senpai: Thank you for your wonderful review! I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

 **NOW FOR THE STORY!**

He smirked, sadistically enjoying the view from his window.

 _So, Zen has found a new intended bride, has he?_

The sight of his little brother holding another woman in his embrace made him remember his brother's last relationship—which didn't end well—and he was determined not to let that happen again.

 _This girl also has interesting features... for starters, her hair is a shade of violet so dark, it's almost black..._

He put a finger on his chin in a thinking pose. _Does Zen just like any woman who has an interesting hair colour?_

He shrugged before walking away from his vantage point—his window—and went back to his desk, sighing as he looked at the heap of paperwork he needed to do. _I'll think about testing the little bumpkin when I finish doing this tedious task._

Naomi hummed a soft tune under her breath as she walked with Zen, hand-in-hand, around the castle.

"What are you humming?" Zen asked as he listened to her.

She shrugged. "I'm not really humming anything. It's a tune I created just now."

Zen smiled at her. "I like that about you. It's nice that you make music without even trying."

She turned away quickly, staring intently at the floor as she blushed fiercely. _Why does he have to say such embarrassing things without realizing its effect?!_

Naomi didn't want to continue blushing, so she quickly changed the subject. "Where are you taking me?"

Zen had a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he told her. "Since you like the view from before so much, I was thinking about sneaking out of the castle and showing you the port!"

She gasped. "I'd love that! I've never been to a port before!"

Zen grinned, closing his eyes. "I knew you'd love it! Just wait until you see all the people bustling around with goods! You'll be so baffled by the—"

"—Multitude of languages spoken there," A familiar voice finished for him. They both turned around to the direction of the voice to see Kiki walking towards them. One quick glance confirmed that Mitsuhide was approaching in the opposite direction, Obi close behind.

"Zen!" Mitsuhide hissed as he gave him a menacing look. "Why on Earth would you leave your duties behind and run off like that?! There are important matters to be decided by you through letters that you must read!"

Zen scratched his cheek nervously. "W-Well, you see..."

"He was helping me back to my room!" Naomi quickly offered up as she stepped in between Mitsuhide and Zen. "It started out as a short break to get some fresh air, but I soon lost my way. Thankfully, I was fortunate enough to find the Prince patrolling about on his short break, and he agreed to help me find the way back to my quarters."

Mitsuhide narrowed his eyes, not quite believing this fabricated story. "Is that so?"

"Yes, it is," Zen said matter-of-fatly as he grabbed her hand. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking Miss Naomi to her room now."

Mitsuhide stepped aside as the unlikely pair made their way to their suddenly-decided destination, ignoring the stifled laughter from Obi as he tried to suppress it.

Once they were out of earshot, Zen gave her a thankful smile. "Thank you so much for doing that. I honestly didn't know what to say when he confronted me, but you definitely had my back. Maybe you're not all bark and no bite after all."

Naomi stuck her tongue out at him. "I _can_ and _will_ bite if needed!"

They shared a light chuckle as they continued their walk. "Don't worry about it. I've had my fair share of running away from paperwork so I know how it feels."

Zen smiled lightly. "It can be very gruelling and taxing at times, especially when all you're dying to do is go outside."

Upon saying that, Naomi remembered something. "Didn't you say you were about to take me to the port?"

Zen winced in remembrance, smacking his forehead with his open palm. "That's right! I wanted to so badly, but because my aides rudely interrupted, we never got the chance. I'm really sorry."

She waved it off, offering a tight-lipped smile. "It's okay. It probably wouldn't have been good for me to go out anyhow with my condition."

Looking around, they finally realised that they were nearing her room.

Zen opened the door to her room like a gentleman. "Right this way, Miss."

Naomi played along, giving him a curtsy. "Why thank you, my good sir."

They both lightly chuckled as he hugged her. "Get well soon, okay? I promise that once you do, I'll take you out to the port."

Her eyes sparkled. "Really? You mean it?"

The Prince nodded. "I swear on my royal title."

He unwrapped his arms around her, stepping back to look at her.

"I can't wait!" She said with excitement.

He smiled at her. "You deserve it after getting me out of that predicament."

Naomi waved him once again. "Like I said, don't worry about it. I can tell that you care about your people deeply, but don't want to be shackled down in your office doing paperwork. If I really thought you were a prince who didn't care about his royal subjects, I wouldn't have done that for you in the first place."

Zen felt his face begin to redden as he lifted up a fist in an effort to hide it. _Why does she have to be so cute when she says that?!_

He quickly spun on his heel, walking away from her quickly. "Well, I'll see you later on!"

And just like that, he left Naomi to her lonesome, confused at his sudden need to leave.

 **TBC.**

AHHHH, _please_ forgive me for my long time of not updating any chapters! School was in the way, and my summer job didn't help either. Also, I've been having writer's block a lot, but it's starting to dissipate now. Reading your guys' kind reviews gave me the motivation to finally update this fan fiction! Not only that, but I've been playing with a few ideas for new fan fictions. (I know, I'm a terrible writer for wanting to create more fan fictions when I can't even update my current ones! xD) Sorry for the short chapter, though! I'll be sure to update it soon with a longer chapter!

Currently, I'm trying to revise and edit the fourteen prompts I did for Zenyuki & Obiyuki week. It's one of the reasons I haven't written in over two months. I'll be sure to upload them to and Wattpad once I finish! :)

Also, this fanfiction is now available on Wattpad! I have the same username as I do on and the fanfiction has the same name as it does here. If you see my fanfiction posted anywhere else (other than and Wattpad), please alert me so I can contact them; please don't confront them on the issue. I want to do that civilly.

 ** _~~I appreciate all reviews, good or bad because I feel like I have so much to learn before truly calling myself an official writer, and I can only learn that from you all telling me my mistakes. Please give me feedback so I can grow not only as a better person but as a better writer, too!~~_**


	7. Chapter 7

After her inspiring encounter with the Second Prince, Naomi took his advice and resigned herself to her bedroom for the better part of a few days, the only exceptions being a few unauthorised breaths of fresh air on a balcony late at night. Upon seeing her so full of energy, Shirayuki recommended to the nurses that they should release her. The nurses did as she requested and released the seemingly-fine amnesiac the same day.

 _I wonder what I should do today?_ She thought to herself as she sauntered down one of the many halls of the castle. She figured that she'd let destiny decide her destination for her and mindlessly went about.

As she rounded yet another vestibule, she slammed into another person who was in an obvious haste. He staggered back, almost slipping and falling but managing to regain his balance in time. Naomi, however, was not so fortunate.

"Oww!" She groaned as she felt the impact the floor left on her currently-healing body. Adding in her fragile state, it didn't make things any better.

"Are you okay?" The man—obviously a nobleman, judging by the luxurious gleam of his attire—asked with no intention of making eye contact as he rubbed his forehead. His question sounded forced as if he knew that it was expected of him. As he finally turned his gaze over to her, his eyes widened. Whether in fear or recognition, she didn't know.

"Do I _look_ okay?" She snapped back at him with a glare as she helped herself up from the floor. "Thanks for offering to help."

That earned her a smile. "You didn't ask."

 _Is this guy a masochist?!_ The young herbalist thought as her eyes widened. _Why does he look so happy?!_

"I have to go now," She quickly informed him as she hastily dusted off her clothes.

She was halfway down the hallway before his voice called her back. "Wait! I never got to apologise!" Before she could turn around with a witty retort, he had already jogged up to her. "Hear me out, please?"

She sighed before turning to face him. "What is it now?"

"As stated before, I never had a chance to apologise," The self-justifying man defended himself as one of his eyebrows twitched in irritation. "Can't I do anything for you?'

"Other than pick me up earlier, which you didn't do?" She deadpanned him. "You could never speak to me again and we'll be even."

His shoulders slumped as he sighed. "What a lady you are…" The sentence seemed to give him an idea, judging by the sudden beam in his eyes. He reached into his coat and pulled out a thin envelope. "Please take this as an earnest apology!"

The recalcitrant woman was about to open her mouth to obscenely deny his apology, but seeing the sincerity in his eyes made her hesitate. After a moment of thought, she took the envelope from him. "Thank you, good sir. You are hereby forgiven."

He sighed once more, but this time in relief. "Thank goodness. I was afraid we'd leave on a bad note."

 _Is that an intentional pun?_

The Violette didn't have time to inquire before the gentleman hastily excused himself and quickly trodden away from her.

 **TBC**

* * *

Okay, I'm sorry that it's such a short chapter, but it's only because I evaluated my writing process since it was counter-productive. Whenever I write, I _typically_ (not always) tend to write long chapters and end up taking more time doing so, therefore not updating as often as I should. I decided that if I write short chapters (except for a few exceptions when it starts to get hot), I'll be able to be more consistent with my updating. That's the only solution I have for my writing problem now, so apologies if you may not like it.

On the same note, another reason I haven't been writing that much (A.K.A. why I didn't update for more than two months) was because I was occupied with writing a total of fourteen prompts the past couple months. Seven were for Obiyuki week and the other seven were for Zenyuki week, both hosted in September. As a little reward for all my patient avid readers, I went through them after both weeks ended and fixed a few errors I didn't catch initially and then proceeded to upload them both to Wattpad and . I titled the Zenyuki prompts "Hopeful Apple Seedlings" and the Obiyuki prompts "Stolen Apples." I hope you enjoy them as much as I did writing them! ( ^ ~ ^ )

Also, I recently was given permission by Primsgirl89 to adopt her AnS series, "He's My Knight in Shining Armor!" I consider it kind of a prequel to this fan-fiction since it shows how Obiyuki develops. I don't really get into the details about how Obiyuki comes about in this fan-fiction (I gloss over them a lot and primarily focus on my Zen x Naomi/Kanata pairing), so if you want to know how they get together, then that new fan-fiction is for you to read. xD

 _ **~~I appreciate all reviews, good or bad, because I feel like I have so much to learn before truly calling myself a writer, and I can only learn that from you all telling me my mistakes. Please give me feedback so I can grow not only as a better person but as a better writer, too!~~**_

Until next time!  
Your lazy writer, Kartara, signing off!


	8. Chapter 8

"Zen, someone is here for you."

Kiki's words were usually cold and formal, but this time, they were slightly uplifting. Even her eyes, which were usually always slanted to remind him she was his aide foremost before his friend, were now supportively lively.

"Who is it now?" The Second Prince asked, looking up from his paperwork.

"Someone who warrants a bit of your time," Mitsuhide responded vaguely. "May we let them in?"

He set his quill down in his inkwell. "By all means, please do."

Obi's smirk did not escape his notice as he went to go open the door for whoever the special guest was. He had imagined numerous persons to be standing behind that door, but nothing prepared him for who actually stood behind it.

It was Naomi.

"Good morning, Zen!" She greeted him happily as she strode over to his desk.

"Hey…" He greeted back unsurely.

"What's wrong?" She teased. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Does Obi count?"

"If he's wearing cat ears."

"Then no."

They shared a quick laugh, earning a scowl from Obi. "I'm right here, ya know!"

"So, what brings you here?" The silverette asked, crossing his arms and leaning backwards against his desk casually as he looked at her.

She shrugged. "I merely came by to tell you that I'm officially all right now and in a stable enough condition to assume my position once more."

 _Man, those words feel weird coming out of me! I'm glad I watched a few Medevil reenactments when I was bored before getting cast into here. It might just help me speak and act like them,_ she thought to herself.

He gave her an idiosyncratic smile, glancing at her herbalist uniform. "Glad to hear that. Is that all you came here for?"

"Not quite," Naomi began before reaching inside her pullover and pulling out the envelope she received prior to seeing him. "Before I went to the dispensary, I bumped into the queerest nobleman that didn't offer to pick me up. After realizing his mistake, he tried to do something in exchange for all the trouble I'd endured and finally settled on handing me this invitation to some ball. I was hoping you'd know about it."

The Second Prince reluctantly took the letter from her and inspected it. His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes became more slanted in thought as he continued to read the invitation, confusion clearly etched on his face. "Kiki, can you come over here for a moment?"

With a small nod, she strode over to his side. After a few moments of her eyes darting about the paper, she began to wear the same expression that her master did. "Who exactly gave you this, Naomi?"

She felt her face grow hot. "W-Well… I'm not sure exactly who the nobleman was, but he definitely was one, what with the attire he was wearing. He even had an insignia sewn into his shirt."

"The only ones with enough authority to even invite a girl with your background to a ball as grand as this one would have to be the princes or someone of a higher position than themselves," The blonde aide informed her. "Which means…"

Zen's eyes suddenly widened in realisation. "Naomi, I need you to be completely honest; how did the nobleman look?"

She scratched her cheek as she tried to remember. "He had blonde hair, as long as my own hair, but it was tied back into a ponytail. His eyes were dark-sapphire blue. Come to think of it, he even wore a white cape."

"The insignia you saw," He began before unsheathing his own sword and showing the hilt to her, which contained his own crest, "did it look like this one?"

"Yes, that's the one I saw," She hesitantly confirmed, "but what exactly does that mean…?"

He put his sword back into its scabbard. "Kiki, Mitsuhide, we have someone to request a meeting with. Obi, stay behind and watch after Naomi. Don't let anyone come in save the three of us."

They all nodded their heads in acknowledgement, their expressions suddenly taking on a solemn tone. _This is no laughing matter,_ she thought to herself. _Whoever gave me this invitation must be someone of importance!_

 **TBC**

 _ **~~I appreciate all reviews, good or bad because I feel like I have so much to learn before truly calling myself a writer, and I can only learn that from you all telling me my mistakes. Please give me feedback so I can grow not only as a better person but as a better writer, too!~~**_

Until next time!  
Your lazy writer, Kartara, signing off!


	9. On Hiatus!

Okay, I know I said I would make new chapters for this fan-fiction, but that was when I thought I had free time and before I decided to take on other fan-fiction on top of the ones I already have. Things have changed.

Lately, I haven't had any inspiration to update this fan-fiction. I don't receive much feedback on any of my other works, but this fan-fiction is definitely not getting any feedback. I've tried forcing myself to write prompts for this, but now, I don't see the point of doing that?

For now, this FF will be on an indefinite hiatus. Feel free to leave any reviews with suggestions as to future chapters, 'cause right now, I'm at a mental block for writing. I have other fan-fictions on Akagami no Shirayukihime, so maybe consider checking those out while I decide if I should continue this series?


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